Map of the day

The Highest Speed Limits Around The World

As the map above shows, Germany’s famous Autobahns are some of the only roads in the world without a speed limit. However, there are two other places where drivers can drive as quickly as they’d like.

The Stuart Highway, in Australia’s Northern Territory, has one 200km long section between Alice Springs and Barrow Creek with an open speed limit.

The Isle of Man also has no speed limits but unlike Germany and Australia lacks motorways (highways).

Other countries and territories impose speed limits that can vary quite widely. And remember we’re talking about the highest posted speed limit in each country, not the average. Always be sure to know and understand the speed limit where you’re driving and stick to it. Speeding kills!

Surprisingly, given America’s love of cars, all states have speed limits. Until, 1999 Montana had a non-numeric “reasonable and prudent” speed limit, but this was deemed too vague by the Montana Supreme Court and a new limit of 75 mph (120 km/h) was imposed.

That means a 41 mile (65km) long portion Texas State Highway 130 is the fastest road in the United States (and the Americas), with a posted speed limit of 85 mph (140 km/h).

Also interesting, all US states have limits above 55 mph (90 km/h), which was the federally mandated limit from 1973-87. The limit then increased to 65 mph (105 km/h) until 1995, when it was finally abolished.

Hawaii, at 60 mph (100 km/h), only states with a speed limit below 65 mph. Alaska, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin have all kept it at 65 mph, with all other states now having higher limits on at least some roads.

Canada’s most populous provinces have even lower speed limits, with both Ontario and Quebec sharing a maximum limit of just 100 km/h (60 mph). However, it’s Nunavut with no speed limits above 70 km/h that is the lowest in Canada and potentially the world.

In Europe, The UK is among the slowest states with maximum limits of just 70 mph (110 km/h). Poland and Bulgaria, on the other hand, are among the fastest with limits of up to 140 km/h.

Finally, some of the slowest countries in the world include Bolivia, Faroe Islands, Greenland, Honduras, Lesotho, Liechtenstein, Malta, Macau, Madagascar, Montenegro, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago, Uganda all of which share national speed limits of just 80 km/h (50 mph).